FAA Considering Drone Flights Over Crowds

A U.S. government-backed committee has reportedly recommended that the Federal Aviation Administration loosen restrictions on the use of commercial drones, a crucial first step to wider business applications for unmanned aerial vehicles. 

The FAA’s Aviation Rulemaking Committee of industry leaders and agency officials late Friday recommended easing restrictions that prohibit businesses from flying unmanned aerial vehicles over populated areas in some cases. FAA spokesman Les Dorr says the agency received the report on Saturday and needs time to review the recommendations. 

The committee’s report, obtained by the Associated Press, recommends the creation of four categories of drones. Devices weighing half a pound or less would have essentially no limits on flying over crowds if the manufacturer could ensure a 99 percent chance that it would not injure someone even if it fell on them. 

Larger drones would have to fly at least 20 feet over the heads of people and not fly laterally within 10 feet of someone, according to the report.

A second category, including quadcopters weighing more than 4 pounds, would have limited permission to fly over people, depending on the design of the drone, and would also have to ensure no injury could result from a drone striking someone.

A third category of drones would be for operations within restricted areas and would not be intended to fly over people in a sustained manner. ​

The fourth category of drones could be flown over crowds if operators developed a flight plan that demonstrated how safety risks would be avoided and if the manufacturer of the device ensured there was a 30 percent or less chance of a serious injury if a drone hit a person.

The FAA last week adjusted some of its rules by simplifying the registration process for businesses and increasing the altitude limit for commercial drones from 200 feet to 400 feet. The transportation agency recently forecast annual drone sales of 7 million by 2020, nearly triple the sales it predicts for 2016.

“Unmanned aircraft systems will be the most dynamic growth sector within aviation," according to the FAA forecast.

Small UAV Coalition spokesman Michael Drobac says current restrictions on drone flights over people make it "nearly impossible” for businesses to use the devices for purposes like news gathering, package delivery, building inspection, law enforcement or search and rescue. 

“There are hundreds of use cases for this technology and almost all of them would necessitate flying over people,” says Drobac, who is also a senior policy adviser for the Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld law firm.

Despite the potential boon for businesses, many Americans are uneasy about the privacy risks. Lawmakers in 26 states including California, Florida and Arkansas have passed regulations governing the use of unmanned aircraft, including penalties for voyeurism or privacy violations.

Drobac says drones should be viewed as only part of the broader debate on privacy rights, arguing that drones are not as invasive to privacy as mobile phones or computers that can "create a dossier of someone" by collecting troves of data. Businesses using drones can take steps to protect consumer privacy by blurring out faces and license plates on footage captured by the devices and by not holding the data they collect for a long period of time, he says.

“There are real concerns about how you defend one’s privacy in the face of any digital technology,” he says. 

​​The current rules mandate registration of flying devices weighing less than 55 pounds, requirements that the aircraft is kept within sight of the pilot, and bans against flying them near stadiums, large crowds and airports.

Looser regulations could benefit the economy by opening new avenues for businesses, like package delivery, but they also raise questions of legal liability, says James Lewis, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

“Drones are just another kind of powered vehicle, and like any powered vehicle they need rules for safe operation unless you want them to land on your head,” Lewis says. “Amateur operators, public places and safety of flight are a risky mix.”